Mucking machine



Aug. '16, 1960 Filed July 30, 1957 R. T. M ALPlNE ETAL MUCKING MACHINE 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventors RODERICK 7. MACALP/NE LAWRENCE A. JAMES Attys.v

Au 16, 1960 R. T. MacALpl E Em 2,949,201

MUCKING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 50, 195'? Inventors RODERICK71 MA (ALP/NE LA WRENCE A. JAMES United States Patent I MUCKING MACHINERoderick T. MacAlpine, Fenelon Falls, Ontario, Canada, and Lawrence A.James, Wallace, Idaho, assignors to Shaft Machines Limited, Toronto,Ontario, Canada Filed July 30,1957, Ser. No. 67 5,138

6 Claims. (Cl. 214'657) This invention relates to, an excavatorormucking'machine'of the type in Whichmater-ial i s collected in a clamor bucket, moved to a point ofqdischarge and discharged therefrom. I 'Itis particularly directed to. providing improvements in. an excavator,-or mucking machine, which can be employed inqsinking'. inclined mineshafts and caissons.

. 1A mucking machine.orexcavator:whichhas proved to a -be verysatisfactory in sinking mineshafts isdisclosed in application No.541,690, filed October 20, 1955, now Patent No. 781,140, issued February12, 1957. This patent discloses the combination of a swingable,telescopic -boom with a clam mounted on the free end and. operatoractuated means for swinging, extendingand retracting the boom and foropening and closing the clam. This device is particularly suitable forsinking vertical ornear vertical shafts or caissons. It has. been found,however,

that it is not entirely satisfactoryv in sinking inclined shafts,

that is, in sinking shafts or caissons *which are-atan angle between thehorizontal and vertical, for example,;i'nclines' up to 45 to thehorizontal.

A principal object of this invention is to provide-an improved excavatorof the swingable, telescopic boom type --which can be employed tocollect, carry. and discharge material-in inclined shafts or caissons.

Generally speaking, the boom can be raised or lowered with respect to aturntable that is free to swing in an are on a cage whereby the boomcanbe universally moved with respect to the cage. Piston and cylinderassemblies are employed for swinging the turntable and'for raising theboom within-the turntable. In thislatter con- 1 nec'tion, it might bepointed out thatthe point of application of the force of the cylinderbetween the boom and Y the turntable is substantially removed fromthepoint. of

pivotal mounting of the boom in the turntable whereby a good mechanicaladvantage is'achieved. This is essential for the flatter inclines of theboom because it will be apparent that greater lifting power is requiredin such cases.

With mucking at the flatter-inclines by means of amachine having a clam,one often encounters difiiculty in discharging adhesive muck from theclam and, to overcome this we have developed sweep plates that aresecured to a free end of the boom and 'haveside edges that boom withrespect to. the rigid section must be prevented, otherwise. the controlof the clam at the end of the boom is difficult. .ing acarria'gexon theheady of. the telescoping section of .We have; overcome this difficultyby provid- .the:boom that co-operates with tracks'in the stationarysection to maintain thetwo from'rotating with respect to PatentedAug.,1.6,; 1960 12 erence to-the following detailed specification readin conjunction with thedrawings.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a view of a-mucking machine according to 6'the-invention in operationin an inclined shaft.

Figure 2 is a detail of the boom turntable.

Figure 3 is an enlargedview of the clam.

Figure4 is a view showing the mounting of a sweep plate.

4 Figure 5 is a sectional view illustrating the boom.

Figure 6 is'a section taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a section taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings, the, numeral 10 generally indicates a muckingmachine constructed according to the present, invention. It comprises acage 11 adapted to ride on an inclined track 12 in amine shaft andhaving a platform 13 upon which the control valves Maud 15 are mountedfor operation by an; operator.

'It mightbeaddedthat the wheels of the cage 11 that engage with thetrack 12 can be blocked so that the cage can not move along the trackand that means on the top ofthe cage such as a suitable jack areprovided to engage with the roof of a mine shaft to hold the cage downon the track in the blocked position when the boom is operating to liftmuck as will be referred to in greater detail later.

The telescoping boom generally indicated by the numeral and to bemorefully described later is pivotally mounted between the brackets 22of the boom turntable 24. Boom turntable 24 is in turn pivotally mountedon the cage 11 by means of pins such as the pin 26 thatenter intoappropriate bearings in the cage as at 28 and 30.

It will be noted that a series of rollers 32 are arranged in :an are onthe cage adjacent its forward end 11 to underlie the turntable 24 as itswings in an arc Within-its mounting in the cage 11.

It will be apparent that the boom 20 is mounted for universal movementwith respect to the cage 11 since the turntable 24 can be swung in anarc about an axis through the aligned pins 26 and the boom can be swungin an are about its mounting in the brackets 22 and therefore an axisthat is substantially at right angles to thevaxis of swing of the boomturntable.

' Means are provided for moving the boom 20 in different directionsWithin its mounting to perform mucking operations and in the embodimentof the invention illustrated, this means includes the cylinders 34, 36,33 and 40 together with their cooperating pistons.

The cylinders 34 and 36 each pivotally connectrwith lugs on the cage 11as at 42 and the rods of their respective pistons pivotally connect withthe lugs in the turntable 24 as shown at 48, to permit the turntable toturn as the pistons reciprocate. It. will be apparent that cylinder 36and its piston rod connect with the cage and the turntable respectivelyin a similar manner to cylinder 34 and its piston rod.

Cylinders 38 and 40 pivotally connect with the forward end of the boomturntable :24 as at and 52 respectively and their respective pistonspivotally connect with a bar 58 as at 60 and 62 respectively.- Bar58 iscarried bythe posts 64 that extend upwardly from the upper side of theboom 20.

The cylinders34 and 36 are adapted to swing the boom turntable 24 aboutthe axes of the pins 26 and the cylinders 38 and 40 are adapted to liftthe boom with respect to the turntable by swingingit: about itsmountingin the brackets 22.

0 Each of the cylinders 34, 36,.3'8and 40 and theirrespective pistons,are-similar. :The pistons are double acting and an e pe d by c mpr ss ar or hy aul eflu forced into either end of the cylinder. The air orfluid connection to the two ends of the cylinders have been indicated bythe numerals 34A, 3413; 36A, 36B; 38A, 38B; and 49A and 403, where theycan be appropriately shown on the drawings. The operation andconstruction of double acting piston and cylinder arrangements is wellknown and it is not our intention to burden this application withfurther detail of them.

The clam on the lower end of the telescoping boom 20 comprises twoco-operating buckets 70 and 72 which are operated in an are about theirpivotal mounting in the bucket pin sleeve 74 by means of the doubleacting cylinders 76 and 78 and their respective pistons.

Cylinders 76 and 78 are each pivotally mounted between the clam brackets86 as at 82 and 84 respectively at one end, and their respective pistonrods pivotally connect in a suitable manner (not shown), with the clambuckets 70 and 72 respectively, whereby the clam buckets can be causedto move between an open position as illustrated in Figure 3 and a closedposition as illustrated in Figure l by operation of the pistons in thecylinders. Clam brackets 86 are suitably welded to the free end of theboom.

The pistons within cylinders 78 and 76 are double acting and provisionis made at the two ends of each of the cylinders for admitting andexhausting air as the pistons are caused to be moved within thecylinders.

The air supply for operating the clam unit comes through the sets ofvalves 14 and mounted on the control platform 13 and we provide for atelescoping air supply tube 77 to supply air to these cylinders 76 and78. The telescoping air supply line 77 is suitably secured close to theboom and extends and retracts as the boom telescopes to remain close tothe boom and not drop to become fouled with muck and the like on thebottom of the mine shaft.

With a clam comprised of co-operating buckets 70 and 72, means arenecessary for clearing the muck from the clam as it opens because inmost cases the boom is not sufficiently vertical to cause the contentsthat are often of an adhesive nature to fall from the clam by gravity asit opens. in this connection, we provide similar bucket sweeps generallyindicated by the numeral 88 and 90. The sweep 90 comprises a sweep plate92 rigidly bolted to the end of the boom by bolts that pass through themounting flanges 94 and 96. As is best seen in Figure 3, the edges ofthe sweep plates are in close proximity to the sides and bottoms of theclam buckets whereby they force muck from the clam as the buckets open.In some cases, depending on the muck, it may be desirable to provide aresilient skirt of rubber or the like on the edges of the sweep platesthat cooperate with the buckets. Sweep plate 88 is the same as sweepplate 90.

In Figure 3, the clam is illustrated in an open position. When thepiston rods of the pistons of the cylinders 76 and 78 extend from theirrespective pistons, the clam closes to pick up a load of muck in theusual fashion. The sweep plates, however, remain rigid and, in effect,form a back for the clam when it is in the closed position. When it isdesired to dump the load from the clam, the pistons are redrawn intotheir respective cylinders and the buckets separate. As they do so,their bottoms and sides sweep past the edges of the sweep plates wherebythe sweep plates operate in conjunction with the buckets to positivelyeject muck from the clam in spite of a near horizontal position of theboom.

The boom generally indicated by the numeral has two sections. A firstsection 100 is pivotally mounted within the bracket 22 of the turntableas described above and a second section 102 which telescopestherewithin. The first section 100 is formed from side plates 103 and104, a top plate 106 and a bottom plate 108 suitably welded as shown.The side plates 103 and 104 each have opposed top and bottomlongitudinally extending flanges 110 and 112 respectively that formdiametrically opposed tracks for a boom head assembly carriage of thetelescoping section 102 of the boom.

The boom head assembly carriage comprises a head 117 carried by theplate 118 that is in turn secured by means of cap screws 119 that engagewith a bolting ring 121 welded on the upper end of the telescoping boomsection 102 to seal it. Stub shafts extend from each side of the head117 and carry the bushings 122 upon which the rollers 114 and 116 aremounted. A packing gland is provided comprised of bronze bushings 124and 125 and air sealing packing 130. This gland is adapted for slidingrelation with the tube 128 as the boom section 102 telescopes.

The tracks formed by the flanges 110 and 112 of the side members of therigid section of the boom 182 engage with the rollers or wheels 114 and116 of the boom head carriage to prevent the telescoping section of theboom from rotating about its longitudinal axis in use.

The telescoping boom section 102 also bears in a bronze bushing 132adjacent the outer extremity of the fixed boom section 100.

A double acting piston head generally indicated by the numeral 134having leather cups for cooperation with the round inside walls of thetelescoping boom section 102 is secured by means of a jam and lock nutcombination as at 136 on the end of tube 128. Tube 128 is rigidlymounted with respect to the head of the rigid boom section 100 asindicated at 138 by a collar 140 on one side of the plate 142 and a boommanifold nut 144 that threadedly engages with the upper end of the tube128. Within the tube 128, a second tube 146 is concentrically mounted tosupply air to the interior of the second boom section as will beexplained later. Numeral 139 is a rubber gasket seal.

A reinforcing tube 141 is mounted within the outer end of the.telescoping section 102 of the boom by means of press fit and welding.

The telescoping movement of the telescoping section 102 of the boom iscontrolled by the fixed double acting piston at 134, the surface 148 ofwhich together with the plate 150 of the telescoping boom sectiondefines a. first chamber, and the surface 152 of which together with theinside of the plate 118 forms a second chamber.

While this boom is capable of operation by any fluid, we prefer airbecause of its cushioning effect. In operation, air is admitted to thefirst chamber by means of the tube 146 which at its lower endcommunicates with the said chamber.

As air is admitted to the first chamber, it builds up a pressure andforces the end 150 thereof away from the rigid surface 148 of the piston134 to telescope the boom section 102 outwardly of the rigid boomsection 100. It will be apparent that as the telescoping action takesplace, it will be necessary to evacuate air from the second chamber. Theescape of this air takes place through the openings 154 in tube 128,through the annular space between tube 128 and 146, and out the opening156 to a suitable exhaust pipe (not shown).

Means are provided for cushioning the telescoping section 102 of theboom as it approaches the full outward extent of its travel. In thisconnection, the bushing 126 is adapted to slide over the openings 154 ofthe tube 128 to substantially close off the escape of air therethroughjust prior to when the second section 102 of the boom reaches the fullextent of its travel. This causes a buildup of air pressure in thesecond chamber and avoids a stopping of an outward travel of the section102 by an abrupt mechanical locking of the two sections of the boom.When it is desired to cause the boom section 102 to retract, air underpressure is forced into the opening 156 and downwardly through theannular space between the tubes 128 and 146 and outwardly through acheck valve 158 into the second chamber. This causes a build-up ofpressure in this chamber to move the boom section 102 inwardly. At thesame time air is evacuated from the first chamber referred to throughthe tube 138 which has been disconnected from the supply that previouslycaused the build-up of pressure therein and is now connected to anexhaust. Once the bushing 126 has been caused to uncover the openings154 as the boom section 102 moves inwardly, air will enter the secondchamber through the openings 154.

In order to cushion the upward travel of the section 102 as itapproaches the limits of its upward travel, we provide a closedcylindrical bumper 160 on the end of the spring 162 that is normallycompressed as shown between the bearing plate 164 and the inside of thebumper by the stern 166 that extends through the rigidly welded plate168. Plate 164 is held in place by threaded engagement with the bolts170.

As the boom approaches the inward limit of its travel the end of bumper160 engages with the nut .136 whereby spring 162 is compressed as thebumper moves towards the bearing plate 164. The spring has a stifinessthat prevents the sudden metal to metal contact between the sections asthey approach the limit of their inward travel.

In operation the unit is lowered down an inclined mine shaft or the likeand blocked to the track so that operation of the boom will not force itback up the track. Further, as indicated above, it is desirable toprovide jacks (not shown) on top of the casing that will engage with thetop of the mine shaft to maintain the cage down on the tracks in use.

With the cage. blocked at a suitable distance from the muck so that theclam can engage with the muck, the operator operates the control leversto cause the buckets of the clam to open and then forces the telescopicsection of the boom into the muck. With practice, he can close thebucket to pick up a load of muck with the bucket. The boom is thenretracted and swung to overlie one of two skips 180. The buckets areopened to drop the muck into the skip, and when the skip is full it israised on its tracks to the top of the mine shaft.

As indicated above, the valves 14 and 15 for controlling the supply ofair for the operation of the cylinders that telescope the boom, move theboom within its mounting, and open the clam buckets, are now known andit is not believed to be necessary to provide herein a detaileddescription of them or of their operation.

It will be understood that in Figure 1, the top portion of the mineshaft has been cut away in order to illustrate the mucking machine moreclearly.

It will be understood that modifications can be made in the preferredembodiment described and illustrated herein without departing from thescope of the invention defined by the appended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. In a mucking machine having a telescopic boom which comprises a firstsection connected at one end to a fixed member by a universal joint, atelescopic section slidably carried by said first section and mountedfor retraction into and extension from said first section, a materialcollecting, carrying and receiving bucket carried by the free end ofsaid telescopic section, and operator controlled pneumatic means foractuating said boom and bucket into material collecting, carrying'anddischarging positions,-the improvement which comprises the combinationof spaced tracks provided longitudinally along opposing inner walls ofsaid first section and a carriage carried by the inner end of saidtelescopic section, said carriage having wheels in rotative engagementwith said tracks, the combination of the tracks and carriage retainingsaid telescopic boom section against rotation about its longitudinalaxis.

2. A mucking machine according to claim 1 in which the exterior shell ofthe first section of the telescopic boom is in the form of a rectangle.and the telescopic section is supported on a wheeled carriage mountedon spaced tracks extended :along opposing interior walls thereof.

3. A mucking machine according to claim .1 in which the materialcollecting bucket is of the clam type formed of two pivotally connected,mating half sections, and a pair of plates fixedly secured to the freeend of said telescopic boom section and extending therefrom, each plateoverlying the inner wall of a half section of said clam when in closedposition.

4. A mucking machine according to claim 1 in which air outlets areprovided adjacent to the outer end of the first section of said boom andmeans are carried by the inner end of said telescopic section forclosing said openings as the said telescopic section advances towardsits point of maximum extension.

5. A mucking machine according to claim 1 in which spring loaded stopmeans are mounted in the inner end of the first boom section forengaging the inner end of said telescopic boom section as it iswithdrawn into said first section towards its maximum point ofretraction.

6. In :a mucking machine having a telescopic boom which comprises afirst section connected to a fixed memher by a universal joint, atelescopic section carried by said first section and mounted forretraction into and extension from said first section, a materialcollecting, carrying and discharging bucket of the clam type formed oftwo co-operating half sections pivotally mounted on the free end of saidtelescopic section and operator controlled pneumatic means for actuatingsaid boom and said bucket into material collecting, carrying anddischarging positions, the improvement which comprises a pair of platesfixedly secured to the free'end of said telescopic boom section andextending therefrom, each plate overlying the inner wall of a halfsection of said clam when in closed position and remaining in fixedposition when the half sections are opened, and co-operating meanscarried by the first and telescopic boom sections to retain saidtelescopic boom section against rotation on its longitudinal axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS198,957 Symonds Jan. 8, 1878 Vest .i-- Aug. 30, 1,611,326 Abbe Dec. 21,1926 2,538,711 Tapper Jan. 16, 1951 2,649,189 Schmidt Aug. 18, 19532,679,922 Everett June 1, 1954 2,684,159 Oldenkamp -4 July 20, 19542,781,140 Cryderman Feb. 12, 1957 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICECERTIFICATE OF "CORRECTION Patent No 2,949,201 August 16, 1960 RoderickT MacAlpine et a1,

It is hereby certified that error appears in the-printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column l line 25, for "Patent N00 78l l40" read Patent No 2,781 l4O y(SEAL) A ERNEST W. SWIDER XXXXXPQX Attesting Ofliccr ARTHUR W. CROCKER Ati Commissioner of Patents

